DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An oil tanker linked to Israel has been seized off the coast of Aden, Yemen, by an unknown force, a private security firm said Sunday.
The Central Park, managed and owned by Zodiac Maritime, was seized in the Gulf of Aden, private intelligence firm Ambrey said.
It wasn't immediately clear who was behind the attack. Aden is held by forces allied to Yemen's internationally recognized government and a Saudi-led coalition that has battled Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for years.
The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Mideast, did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press. Ambrey said that it appeared that “U.S. naval forces are engaged in the situation and have asked vessels to stay clear of the area.”
The Central Park seizure comes after a container ship, CMA CGM Symi, owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack Friday by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean as Israel wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an American defense official said Saturday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not allowed to discuss intelligence matters.
The attacks come as global shipping increasingly finds itself targeted in the weekslong war that threatens to become a wider regional conflict — even as a truce has halted fighting and Hamas exchanges hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
In the Israel-Hamas war, which began with the militants’ Oct. 7 attack, the Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship in the Red Sea off Yemen.
